The Prince and the Shepherd
by IronBirdHaunted
Summary: David and James are twins who were separated at birth but what happens when they meet up accidentally during a walk around the castle. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO MARK TWAIN, THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, AND TO ADAM AND EDDIE, THE CREATORS OF ONCE. Warning: mention of violence and spanking in some chapters. Don't like, don't read.
1. The Birth of the Prince and the Shepherd

**Disclaimer** **:** Since part of the inspiration for Prince Charming (David and James) was _The Prince and the Pauper_ , I decided when I finished school that I would like to write up a similar fanfic of it on here but in Once terms. All rights go to Mark Twain, the original writer of The Prince and the Pauper, and to Adam and Eddie as the creators of Once. Please be aware that this might not be exactly true to Prince and the Pauper, nor will it be the same as OUAT, but I hope to do ok with it.

...

Once in the Enchanted Forest, on a certain November day, and in the late 1800s, a boy was born to a family of the name of Nolan, and to a family of shepherds who struggled to keep him. On the same day, another child was adopted by a rich family who ruled over the land and did want him. All of the Enchanted Forest wanted him to. All the citizens had longed for him for what felt like forever, and hoped for him, and prayed God to deliver him, that now that he had really come, the people were mad for joy. Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed each other and cried. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow; and they kept this up for days and nights together. By day, the Enchanted Forest was a sight to see, with brightly coloured banners waving from every balcony and housetop, and splendid soldiers marching by. By night, it was also a sight to see, with bonfires and the general public making merry over him. No! There had never been as much talk as that of Prince James of the Enchanted Forest, who lay in silks and satins, unconscious of all this fuss, unaware of the fact that great lords and ladies were doting over him, and not caring much either. There was no talk, however, about the other baby, David Nolan, dressed in as poor a clothing as could be afforded, except for among the shepherd and his wife who he had now come to trouble with his presence.


	2. David's Early Life

**Disclaimer** **:** First of all I just want to say thanks to everyone who have read this already. Secondly; a guest reviewed that you liked it but brought up that I do normally do spanking fics and is this going to be the same? There will be spankings and mention of spankings in some of the chapters but not all of them so you'll know if there is because I'll have a warning on the chapters which do. Lastly; there will be some of this chapter which will not be similar to OUAT but will be true to Prince and the Pauper, and parts that will be true to OUAT but not to Prince and the Pauper. I'm trying to write this in a way that is true to both of them but I can only do it to an extent.

 **Warning** **:** Slight mention of spanking and violence. Don't like, don't read.

* * *

Let us skip around six years.

The Enchanted Forest was over ten thousand years old, and was greatly popular for the day. It had many hundreds or thousands of inhabitants, although it could easily be doubled. The streets and upcoming roads were narrow, rocky, crooked, and dirty, but this differed from where David lived, on a farm a large way away from the King's castle. The house was a cottage, with only one storee and with a door leading out to the farm. Around the outside the house became more presentational, so much as it could be taken as a skeleton of strong criss-cross beams. Another point about the door, it was near to a mixture of red and black, and was accompanied by two windows at the front, plus two more at the back, which were small, slightly glazed with what seemed to be diamond-shaped panes, but no one was ever sure if they opened.

The house which Ruth, Robert, and young David lived in was up a hill in a place called Sheep Farm. Business was small, decayed, and poor, but the living conditions on the farm consisted of constant fighting with the two working shepherds. There was only one floor, so needless to say that it was quite crowded, even though it was just the three of them. Although they were always fighting, Ruth and Robert both insisted in still sharing a room with each other, and this left David in a room located in one of the top corners. Something that was unsure to visiters though was that there was another room, plus a few others but when asked about this neither of the parents said anything. What Ruth and Robert were hiding though was that they had given up David's twin brother, James, to royalty and hadn't been allowed to say anything to anyone, even their own son. In the corners of each room there were the remains of blankets, and these were bundled on top of each other and on top of the cheapest beds as were affordable. Well, beds which were more less kicked in and not replaced if broken.

Unfortunately life on the farm wasn't always positive. Robert was a drunkard and used this to help him deal with the fact that the farm was failing, fought with whoever he could, something which furthermore meant that his wife and one remaining son were made to suffer. Every time Robert had came back from a night of drinking with his friends he would sware and curse until he was again sober, and while in this state would try to teach his drunkan and thieving traits to David. However, among all the comotion of this his mother would take him aside so she could teach her son not to get into anything his father was suggesting. This sort of drunkenness, riot, and quarelling was normal on Sheep Farm and was not unusual for any young child to hear and broken heads, as well as hunger, was considered an everyday enjoyment. Yet growing up around this didn't make David that unhappy. Yes; he had a hard time with this, and was aware of it, but didn't know what others might think. He was friends with another boy who lived in the farm next to them who had a more less similar but different set up but had to face mostly the same things so it was clear to say that David had came to the conclusion that this was the tipical things that every boy like him would have, therefore making him suppose this was the correct thing. A few times his father would send him out begging for money to get the budget for the farm but David knew that should he come back home without the money should his father have been drinking that day he would be in for a beating, although his mother would try her best to stop it. Often was the case after this he would be sent to bed early without dinner although as soon as her alcoholic husband was asleep, Ruth would often sneak food into her son's room, but if she was caught in doing this her husband would treat her in a similar way as he did his young son.

Overall if anyone thought of David's life through his opinion his life was good enough, especially in the Summer months. During these months he only begged so he could get out and away from the farm, but at times it got so hard he tried to come up with other ways of getting the cash. He payed particular attention to the power that the King and that Prince James guy had and fell even more in love with the idea of what it would be like if he had that life. While he got even further into this, he began to write speeches and used these as a way to get the money the farm needed. All of this happened a few streets away from the farm, and sometimes even closer to where the castle was located. While most of these speeches were taking place some infamous and unfortunate prisoners were being taken off to the dunguns but it got him a wide audience nonetheless. As the weeks went by and this became even more a habbit, David eventually started imagining that he was the prince. _It may sound weird but don't the prince and I have the same birthdays?_ This thought got deeper and deeper into the boy's mind and eventually all the reading he'd been doing on princely life began to have a strong effect upon him. In fact, the effect it was having even made him ACT the prince, both unconsciously and majority of ways he developed his everyday speeches even started to improve, and indeed in a royal-like manner that appealed to the vast admiration and amusement of most people he knew. Elder members of society used to comment on his ability to deliver to an audience, as well as the wit and wisdom he showed at such a young age. This showed that the likelihood was that only his father saw nothing in him.

After a while, it became a private occasion that David would pretend to have a royal court! In this court he was the prince; his friends and family were guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords and ladies in waiting, and the royal family. On a daily basis the mock prince started planning elaborate ceremonies and writings. Current affairs were discussed in his royal council and the mimic kingdom evan managed the armies, navies, and viceroyalties. By doing all this, he would get a few farthings which proved enough for him to buy himself at least a few pieces of bread, and continued to come out of his daydream so he would live out the normal elements of his life. But still his desire to at least talk to a real prince began to grow and became the main passion of his life.

One January day while he was on his normal begging tour David walked bare-footed down two streets which were three and four streets away on a wet and cold miserable day. There was a cold drizzle of rain; the atmosphere was dark and murky. That night when David reached home he was wet, tired and hungry and when he looked up Robert, who had been drinking all day, found it impossible to feel happy about a whole lot of mud and raindrops coming into the house; wherefore he gave him another spanking for not cleaning himself off and send him to bed. Between the pain and hunger, fighting and swearing; David found it a hard task to sleep that night but he soon got over to the land of dreaming where the blazing light, breathing perfumes, and images of drinking and delicious music he'd been thinking about all day appeared in his princely head.

And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness surroundings around him, he found that his dream had had its usual effect _ it had intensified! Then what came was the bitterness, and heart-break, and tears.


End file.
